Inside Bucs' decision to pass on Derwin James, draft Vita Vea

TAMPA, Fla. -- For weeks, it seemed like Florida State safety Derwin James would wind up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Just about every major mock draft had projected James or Minkah Fitzpatrick to go to Tampa Bay.

ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay even said, "James going to Tampa Bay seems like the worst-kept secret in the NFL right now." James believed it, too, telling the Dallas Morning News that if the Cowboys wanted to draft him, they "needed to get ahead of the Buccaneers at No. 7."

But even after the Bucs traded down from the No. 7 spot to No. 12 and James was still on the board, they passed, instead drafting 347-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea out of Washington. James fell to the…